The present application relates to a passenger restraining apparatus for restraining an occupant seated on a vehicle seat with an inflatable belt.
A passenger restraining apparatus for restraining a passenger seated on a vehicle seat with an inflatable belt, a passenger restraining apparatus having a shoulder anchor arranged on a rear side of the seat with respect to the vehicle, and a passenger restraining belt to be passed through the shoulder anchor and pulled around a front side of the passenger, in which at least a portion of the passenger restraining belt which is arranged on a lateral side of the passenger's head is an inflatable portion is known (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-312439 (“JP Pub. No. '439”), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety).
The passenger restraining apparatus (air belt apparatus) in JP Pub. No. '439 described above includes a shoulder anchor mounted to an upper portion of a pillar member placed on the obliquely rear side of the vehicle seat, so that a passenger restraining belt passed through the shoulder anchor is pulled around the front side of the passenger seated on the seat.
The passenger restraining belt includes a shoulder belt section which is drawn obliquely from the shoulder anchor via the lateral side of the passenger's head and the front side of an upper body of the passenger to a portion near a lumbar part on the other side of the shoulder anchor, and a lap belt section which is continued from a lower end of the shoulder belt section and drawn along the lateral direction so as to cover around an abdominal portion of the passenger. In JP Pub. No. '439, the shoulder belt section is configured with an inflatable bag-shaped belt. The bag-shaped belt is arranged so that an upper end side thereof is positioned on the lateral side of the passenger's head. In JP Pub. No. '439, the lap belt section is also configured with the inflatable bag-shaped belt.
When the vehicle collides, falls on its side, and so on, the shoulder belt section and the lap belt section are inflated to restrain the passenger. At this time, the upper end side of the shoulder belt section is inflated on the lateral side of the passenger's head, that is, between the passenger's head and a side surface of a vehicle cabin. Accordingly, the passenger's head is prevented from hitting directly onto the side surface of the cabin or the like.
The inflatable portion of the above-described shoulder belt section or the like is preferably inflated to a position as high as possible and arranged on the lateral side of the center of gravity of the passenger's head or in the vicinity thereof as well.
In order to do so, it is conceivable that the inflatable portion of a large capacity is employed. However, in this case, a high-output inflator may be required.